Roll of Honour for 462 Squadron, RAAF, located at Panel 109 in the Commemorative Area of the Australian War Memorial, Canberra. The names of the Australians in 462 Squadron RAAF who were killed in action during WWII are inscribed in bronze. As seen in the photo above, the 462 Squadron section is in the uppermost portion of the panel, so it can be difficult to photograph.

Information on the thirty seven Australians on this Roll of Honour is included below.

A similar photo may be seen on the F/Sgt J.M.Tait page, with a Remembrance Poppy beside his name.

Australian War Memorial, Canberra showing the Commemorative Courtyard and the Pool of Reflection, with the circular sculpture of the Eternal Flame just visible on the surface of the water at the far end of the Pool.

Panel 109, with the Roll of Honour for 462 Squadron, RAAF, is located about half way along, in the Commemorative Area on the upper eastern gallery (right hand side of photo) visible through the arched cloisters.

This mosaic of an Airman is located on one of the walls surrounding the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, which is centrally located in the Hall of Memory at the Australian War Memorial, Canberra.

The other three walls each have a mosaic of a Soldier, a Sailor and a Servicewoman and are intended to recall the Australian experience of WW2. The mosaics are made of over 6 million enamelled glass tiles. (Information sourced from the Australian War Memorial online.)

On the west lawn of the Australian War Memorial grounds is a Sculpture Garden where the Bomber Command Memorial is located. It is made of stainless steel, glass and black granite, and commemorates RAAF air and ground crew of Bomber Command in World War Two.

The curved stainless steel wall has silhouettes which represent members of air and ground crew. Around the outside of the central paving is a ring of granite which is engraved with text and Squadron insignia of Bomber Command.

Additional pictures and information may be viewed on the Australian War Memorial website, reference ART92683 – a full size view of the Bomber Command Memorial with AWM in background, a close-up, and a photo of the attendees at the Dedication Service.

The plaque in the ground in front of the Bomber Command Memorial:
Artist/Sculptor Neil Dawson; sculpture made of stainless steel, glass and granite; acquired under commission in 2005; ART92683.

" The memorial was unveiled by the Hon. De-Anne Kelly, MP,
Minister for Veterans' Affairs, on 23 July 2005.
The memorial integrates key elements of the experience
of those who served: a searchlight reaching to the sky,
the types of aircraft flown, and the air and ground crew
who flew or maintained them." Back to top of page

Above left: Lynn Nickols at the Bomber Command Commemoration ceremony at the Australian War Memorial, Canberra on 04 June 2017. Lynn is the daughter of Sandy Archer, Navigator for the Rodgers Crew, 462 Squadron.
Above right: Bomber Command Memorial in the Sculpture Garden, with wreaths placed on the day, around its base.

Above: Bomber Command Memorial with wreaths, at the Australian War Memorial, 04 June 2017. The well organised and emotional Commemoration is held on the first Sunday in June. The Welcome Address for the 2017 Wreath Laying ceremony was spoken by the Hon. Dr Brendan Nelson, AO, Director of the Australian War Memorial. (To read his address, refer to AWM website / Commemoration / Speeches / Bomber Command Wreath Laying Ceremony – 4 June 2017).

Above: Some of the Veterans of Bomber Command who attended the Commemoration ceremony, Australian War Memorial, 04 June 2017. They are grouped in front of the spire, and in the background is the Bomber Command Banner showing various aircraft.
About 30 veterans attended, all now in their 90s.

Veterans of Bomber Command with families and friends at the Luncheon after the Commemoration ceremony, Australian War Memorial, 04 June 2017. The luncheon was held in ANZAC Hall with Lancaster "G for George", formerly of 460 Squadron.
The Bomber Command Commemorative Address 2017 at the Luncheon, was spoken by Dr Brendan Nelson, on the occasion of the 75th Anniversary of the entry of the RAAF into Bomber Command. His address was very moving, with hardly a dry eye at its conclusion. (To read his address, refer to AWM website / Commemoration / Speeches / Bomber Command Commemorative Address 2017). Back to top of page

The following information has been sourced from the Australian War Memorial (www.awm.gov.au),
Australian WW2 Nominal Roll (www.ww2roll.gov.au),
the National Archives of Australia (www.naa.gov.au), the Commonwealth War Graves Commission (http://www.cwgc.org) and the 462 Squadron Operational Record Book (ORB).

Information about 462 Squadron losses varies between authors of published books, with differences in spelling of surnames, initials, rank and crew position, service numbers, and aircraft serials and codes.
(The list of these books is on the acknowledgements page.)

For the following lists, the full name, rank at death, RAAF service number and date of death has been taken from the Australian WW2 Nominal Roll, also cross-referenced with the NAA files.

The crew position at death has been sourced from the 462 Squadron ORBs and cross-referenced with NAA files. Some differences also occur between these two sources, as well as with the published authors.

Abbreviations of crew position:- B/A for Bomb Aimer; Nav for Navigator; WOp for Wireless Operator (sometimes also listed as WOp/AG); MU/AG for Mid Upper Air Gunner; R/AG for Rear Air Gunner; SD for Special Duties.
Crew position on the final flight may have been different from their substantive position and is noted as, for example, "SD (B/A)" meaning in the role of Special Duties for that flight, but usually a Bomb Aimer.

The aircraft serial and code has been sourced from the NAA files and cross-referenced with 462 Squadron ORBs. Some differences occur with various authors. For example ....

.......... PN429 Z5-E Pilot Tootal – as per ORB and pages within the digitised NAA "Loss of Aircraft" file, not MZ429 Z5-F as used by some authors, and the NAA Index. MZ429 Z5-F was repeatedly flown by Whatling and crew in training flights and on Ops from early November 1944 until late May 1945, and the ORB details match the logbook of Whatling's Navigator (see John Harris page). Therefore MZ429 Z5-F could not have been lost on 24 February 1945.
.......... MZ477 Z5-A Pilot Rate – as per ORB and digitised NAA "Loss of Aircraft" files, possibly not MZ447 as used by some authors.
.......... MZ461 Z5-O Pilot Ely – as per ORB and digitised NAA "Loss of Aircraft" files, not Z5-G as used by some authors.

Location is the Bomber Command Group and RAF Station at the time of the loss.

4 Group, Bomber Command at Driffield in Yorkshire in 1944;
100 Group, Bomber Command at Foulsham in Norfolk in 1945;
Middle East 1942/1943/1944 (Mediterranean Air Command). Information for the Middle East losses has only been sourced from the Australian War Memorial and the Australian WW2 Nominal Roll.

Only RAAF members of 462 Squadron are commemorated on the Australian War Memorial in Panel 109. For the names of members of other Air Forces who were also Killed in Action at 462 Squadron, please visit the crew pages via the Pilot links. Back to top of page